The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry hosted the G7 Kitakyushu Energy Ministerial Meeting on May 1 and 2. Minister Hayashi chaired the meeting, under the grand theme of “Energy Security for Global Growth”. Ministers discussed three key themes (1) energy investment for global growth, (2) energy security, and (3) energy sustainability, and adopted the “Kitakyushu Initiative on Energy Security for Global Growth”.

1. G7 Kitakyushu Energy Ministerial Meeting

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry hosted the G7 Kitakyushu Energy Ministerial Meeting in Kitakyushu-City, Japan on May 1 and 2. Ministers and representatives from the Group of Seven (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States), the European Union (EU), the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) participated in the meeting chaired by Motoo Hayashi, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Among growing uncertainty on the prospect of global economy, based on the understanding that energy is the foundation of economic activities, Ministers deepened discussions on wide-range and important issues and measures under the grand theme of “Energy Security for Global Growth”. Ministers discussed three key themes, “energy investment for global growth”, “energy security” taking into account the changes in energy markets and geopolitical situations, and “energy sustainability” to examine the role of energy systems on the occasion of the first gathering by G7 energy ministers after COP21. Ministers adopted the Joint Statement, “Kitakyushu Initiative on Energy Security for Global Growth” which includes specific messages and actions. This Joint Statement will be reported to the G7 Ise-Shima Summit, to be held at the end of May, for Leaders’ consideration.

Key elements of the Joint Statement:

Energy Investment for Global Growth
Ministers agreed to play a leading role in facilitating secure and sustainable energy investment to support global growth, including innovative investment to encourage clean energy technologies, upstream investment, and quality infrastructure investment. Facilitating energy investment is crucial to support employment and the world economy, which is one of the main themes of Ise-Shima Summit.

Gas Security
In order to strengthen international emergency response on natural gas while its demand in Asia is rapidly increasing, Ministers agreed on the IEA’s leading role on gas security, including the resiliency assessment. Ministers also agreed that well-functioning gas markets with transparency, flexibility and liquidity will be facilitated through comprehensive actions including relaxation of destination clauses, encouragement of market development of LNG price indices, and expansion of open and resilient gas infrastructure such as LNG terminals. Japan will further strengthen its work to facilitate the development of the LNG market, based on its “Strategy for LNG Market Development” which was made public today, and to cooperate with both producers and consumers by hosting the “LNG Producer-Consumer Conference 2016” to be held in November.

Nuclear Energy and Safety
Ministers welcomed the steady progress on decommissioning and treatment of contaminated water at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Ministers agreed that, in those countries that opt to use nuclear energy, it is crucially important to engage the public in science-based dialogue and transparency to inform about policymaking. Ministers called upon all countries that opt to use nuclear power to ensure the highest standards of safety, security and non-proliferation, and to exchange their expertise and experiences.

Cybersecurity and Electricity Security
Ministers agreed to facilitate cross-regional and cross-sectoral networking on energy cybersecurity among relevant stakeholders, and to conduct a survey on relevant practices across G7 countries. In terms of electricity security, while the use of renewable energy is expanding and the work to reform the electricity market is under way, Ministers agreed on the need for improved market designs, including the system that allows the integration of variable renewable energy. Ministers asked IEA and IRENA to build on their work and to provide further advice in this regard.

Innovation and Deployment of Clean Energy Technologies
Ministers agreed to support clean energy technology innovation through their strong support for the “Mission Innovation.” Ministers also welcomed the launch of the second phase of IEA Energy Technology Roadmap.

2. Bilateral meetings with ministers

At the meeting with H.E. Dr. Ernest Moniz, United States Secretary of Energy, both sides affirmed that the cooperative bilateral relationship in wide-range fields such as nuclear, oil & gas and clean energy had matured and agreed to develop further cooperation. And both also recognized that accelerating widespread clean energy innovation was important for the global climate change issue and affirmed to lead innovation and development of the world’s clean energy technology through the Mission Innovation.

At the meeting with H.E. Mr. Miguel Arias Cañete, European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, both sides agreed to deepen their cooperation toward a well-functioning international LNG market. Both also affirmed the importance to actively facilitate investment by public-private sectors in order to support global economic growth and to ensure implementation of the Paris Agreement.

At the meeting with H.E. Mr. James Gordon Carr, Minister of Natural Resources, Canada, both sides affirmed the importance to actively facilitate investment by public-private sectors in order to support global economic growth, and agreed to develop further cooperation between both countries in the field of natural resources including natural gas.

At the meeting with H.E. Ms. Teresa Bellanova, Deputy Minister, the Ministry of Economic Development, Italy, both sides shared the importance of enhancement of electricity security and agreed to develop further cooperation in the field of oil and natural gas. Both also agreed to take over the Kitakyushu Initiative to the next year’s Summit presidency in Italy.

At the meeting with H.E. Mr. Adnan Z. Amin, Director-General of IRENA, both sides recognized that accelerating widespread development and deployment of renewable energy has become more important for the issue of global climate change after COP21, and also agreed to strengthen further cooperation in the field of renewable energy and related technology, including battery storage and grid integration.